Joy functions like a living symbol of Cody’s neglected hobby and the garden’s wider “infection” problem in that chapter. The game puts May in a support role that directly enables Cody’s progress, reinforcing the chapter’s broader theme of cooperation inside their relationship journey.

If you’re stuck, it’s almost always because one player is trying to brute force their part without setting up the other player’s part first.

What Joy looks like

Joy is presented as a humanoid flower with large petal-like growths forming a crown around her head, plus vine and plant textures across the body. In her infected state, the design leans into sharp shapes, harsh lighting, and visible “corrupted” growths to telegraph danger.

How the Joy fight works

The fight is built around a repeating co-op loop.

• May uses a sickle and a watering hose to clear gunk and prepare soil.
• Cody gets forced into special plant forms and uses those to break enemy plants and push phases forward.
• After each combat wave, May waters soil so Cody can enter it and briefly control Joy, exposing infected weak points for May to destroy.

The forced transformations

Walkthroughs for this chapter describe Joy transforming Cody into a tomato first, then later a potato, then later a lime.
Treat each form as “Cody’s damage window” while May’s watering sets the pace of the arena.

The survival interludes

Between damage cycles, there are sections where the goal is simply staying alive while the arena attacks ramp up. One guide describes a segment with multiple small platforms where you should watch shadows and time your jumps as platforms get destroyed.

Clean tactics that end the fight faster

• Prioritize clearing gunk that blocks movement paths, not the entire floor.
• When the soil appears, stop chasing extra hits and set up the control step immediately.
• During platform survival moments, call out the next safe landing spot early and commit together.